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Thursday, January 24, 2013

9 EXTRAORDINARY USES OF BANANA

Make a face mask

Who needs Botox
when you have bananas? That’s right: You can use a banana as an all-natural
face mask that moisturizes your skin and leaves it looking and feeling softer.
Mash up a medium-sized ripe banana into a smooth paste, then gently apply it to
your face and neck. Let it set for 10-20 minutes, then rinse it off with cold
water. Another popular mask recipe calls for 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 2
tablespoons honey, and 1 medium banana.

Eat a frozen “banana-sicle”

As a summer treat
for friends and family, peel and cut four ripe bananas in half (across the
middle). Stick a wooden ice-cream stick into the flat end of each piece. Place
them all on a piece of wax paper, and then put it in the freezer. A few hours
later, serve them up as simply yummy frozen banana-sicles. If you want to go
all-out, quickly dip your frozen bananas in 6 ounces (170 grams) melted
butterscotch or chocolate morsels (chopped nuts or shredded coconut are
optional), then refreeze.

Tenderize a roast

Banana leaves are
commonly used in many Asian countries to wrap meat as it’s cooking to make it
more tender. Some folks in these areas say the banana itself also has this
ability. So the next time you fear the roast you’re cooking will turn tough on
you, try softening it up by adding a ripe, peeled banana to the pan.

Polish silverware and leather shoes

It may sound a
bit like a lark, but using a banana peel is actually a great way to put the
shine back into your silverware and leather shoes. First, remove any of the
leftover stringy material from the inside of the peel, then just start rubbing
the inside of the peel on your shoes or silver. When you’re done, buff up the
object with a paper towel or soft cloth. You might even want to use this
technique to restore your leather furniture. Test it on a small section first
before you take on the whole chair.

Brighten up houseplants

Are the leaves on
your houseplants looking dingy or dusty? Don’t bother misting them with water —
that just spreads the dirt around. Rather, wipe down each leaf with the inside
of a banana peel. It’ll remove all the gunk on the surface and replace it with
a lustrous shine.

Deter aphids

Are aphids
attacking your rosebushes or other plants? Bury dried or cut-up banana peels an
inch or two deep around the base of the aphid-prone plants, and soon the little
suckers will pack up and leave. Don’t use whole peels or the bananas
themselves, though; they tend to be viewed as tasty treats by raccoons,
squirrels, gophers, rabbits, and other animals, who will just dig them up.

Use as fertilizer or mulch

Banana peels,
like the fruit itself, are rich in potassium — an important nutrient for both
you and your garden. Dry out banana peels on screens during the winter months.
In early spring, grind them up in a food processor or blender and use it as a
mulch to give new plants and seedlings a healthy start. Many cultivars of roses
and other plants, like staghorn ferns, also benefit from the nutrients found in
banana peels; simply cut up some peels and use them as plant food around your
established plants.

Add to compost pile

With their high
content of potassium and phosphorus, whole bananas and peels are welcome
additions to any compost pile — particularly in so-called compost tea recipes.
The fruit breaks down especially fast in hot temperatures. But don’t forget to
remove any glued-on tags from the peels, and be sure to bury bananas deep
within your pile — otherwise they may simply turn out to be a meal for a
four-legged visitor.

Attract butterflies and birds

Bring more
butterflies and various bird species to your backyard by putting out overripe
bananas (as well as other fruits such as mangos, oranges, and papayas) on a
raised platform. Punch a few holes in the bananas to make the fruit more
accessible to the butterflies. Some enthusiasts swear by adding a drop of
Gatorade to further mush things up. The fruit is also likely to attract more
bees and wasps as well, so make sure that the plat-form is well above head
level and not centrally located. Moreover, you’ll probably want to clear it off
before sunset, to discourage visits from raccoons and other nocturnal creatures.